Aerial view of a large construction site with tunnels in progress amidst green fields, with machinery, roads, and workers, architecture by MOXON Architects.
Greatworth Green Tunnel

Infrastructure shaped by landscape

Greatworth Green Tunnel

Greatworth, England

2017 — ongoing

Clients:   HS2 Ltd, EKFB
The Greatworth Green Tunnel is a demonstration of how major infrastructure can be delivered with restraint, clarity, and a deep regard for landscape. Designed as part of the HS2 programme, the project transforms a cut‑and‑cover tunnel into a landform that restores the continuity of the countryside while accommodating a significant piece of national transport infrastructure.
High-speed trains emerging from a tunnel through a lush, green landscape with trees, blue sky, and clouds, architecture by MOXON Architects.

Our approach is grounded in the belief that infrastructure should work in concert with its setting. At Greatworth, this principle is expressed through a gently modelled landscape that conceals the tunnel structure and re‑establishes farmland, habitats, and public rights‑of‑way above the railway. The design prioritises simplicity and legibility, allowing the reinstated topography and planting strategy to take precedence over the engineering beneath.

High-speed train entering a tunnel surrounded by green fields and trees, under a partly cloudy sky, architecture by MOXON Architects.
A modern train station with a sleek, curved roof, surrounded by lush trees, with multiple tracks and a building, architecture by MOXON Architects.
Construction site with roads, machinery, and infrastructure development, surrounded by fields and countryside, architecture by MOXON Architects.

Working in close collaboration with EKFB and our design partners ASC, we developed a solution that balances technical performance with environmental sensitivity. The tunnel’s geometry is efficient and robust, yet its presence is softened by the reinstated hedgerows, woodland edges, and species‑rich grasslands that reconnect ecological corridors and enhance biodiversity.

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Greatworth Green Tunnel reflects our ongoing commitment to infrastructure that is both purposeful and considerate - a project where engineering is integrated quietly into the landscape, and where long‑term environmental value is placed at the forefront of design.

Four construction workers in orange safety gear walk on a bridge under construction, with machinery and earthworks in the background. Architecture by MOXON Architects.
Partners
Consultant
ASC
Structural Engineering
Arcadis
Structural Engineering
COWI

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